


An Array of Issues

by Zorekryk



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Aggressive Use of Pools, Childish Dickishness, Fruit salad, M/M, Needless Endangerment of Human Life, Petty Squabbling, Pre-Relationship, light humiliation, the usual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 18:39:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7652410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zorekryk/pseuds/Zorekryk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pining isn't so much of a problem, and neither is getting attached to someone--except when neither of those people seem to realise it, no matter how many clues smack them in the face.  Being assholes doesn't help much either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The first time Hux saw Kylo Ren unmasked, he was naked.

Strictly speaking, General Hux wasn’t permitted here. Appalling, that there would be anywhere on his own ship he’d not be allowed. Even the first step into this forbidden corridor might as well have been into anywhere else in the galaxy for all it felt like the rest of the ship.

Instantly he was hit by the smell. Instead of the cool sterility and ozone-like quality of all recycled and filtered life support systems was a mix of incense, something... _musty_ , and another, unplaceable floral fragrance. The Knights of Ren had gone so far as to change the lamps to a faint amber, and hang heavy drapes along the walls. Hux stepped up to one, halfway between a banner and a tapestry, embroidered with unfamiliar writing.

The doors were open along the corridor, every single one, also in direct contrast to the rest of the ship. Perhaps they’d even been removed. He forced his pace faster down the hall, refusing to be intimidated on his own ship. Something felt odd--not just in his stomach, he noted, but just in the air… _humidity_. How in the Outer Rim had the knights accomplished that and, more pressingly, _why_?

The first populated room he came across gave him half that answer. The large room had undergone such heavy conversion Hux couldn’t identify its original purpose. A long table, bizarre broken shafts of light from the ceiling, even _stone columns_ in the middle of the room dividing it. Not actual stone, likely, but still not as out of place on his starship as the large, steamy pool that dominated the room. Large enough to hold an eighth of the ship’s water, he wagered. And all of the knights, by the look of it.

Most of them were in this pool, aggressively ignoring him. A few conversations stopped. He ignored them right back, instead studying each of their faces in turn. Having never seen any of them out of armour, let alone half naked, identifying them was impossible. The two sparring in the corner (the only two mostly dressed out of the whole ensemble, Hux noted) weren’t even wearing their distinctive helmets, the only method he’d used previously to tell them apart.

He stepped up to the pool, next to the oldest looking one of the group. Kylo Ren clearly wasn’t any of the five females of the group, or the short man sitting and smoking at the other side of the pool, nor was he the young Twi’lek. But other than that, he had little to determine which of them he was without hearing him speak.

“Which of you is Kylo Ren?” Hux snapped curtly. The heat was oppressive this close to the pool, more accurately a _sauna_ , all the more so in his heavy greatcoat.

The man turned infernally slowly, which certainly made him insolent enough to be Kylo Ren. But his voice was much too high. Hux assumed, he realised--thinking about it, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to place Kylo Ren by his unaltered voice either.

“Did he summon you?” he asked flatly, eventually facing Hux, but not looking at him, not even looking in his direction.

“Kylo Ren does _not summon me_.” Hux looked to the left of the man, and the others in the pool, who were all apparently entirely comfortable with their bodies.

“But you are here.”

Hux knelt, knowing he was getting no small amount of himself wet doing so, leaning as close to this man as he could in a dignified fashion. “Which of you is _Kylo Ren_?”

The man hesitated, though not intimidated. Certainly another trait of Ren’s. He looked over Hux, his eyes lingering over his body for far, far longer than Hux was anywhere near comfortable with, before meeting his eyes. “The master does not bathe with us,” he said finally, turning away.

“Then _where is he_ ,” Hux insisted, hardly dissuaded by the affront. “Before I have your _sanctum_ torn apart and this gratuitous excess drained.”

“Careful with that temper, General.” Another knight, a statuesque woman (with no shirt on, no less) swam over to him, pulling herself partially out of the water. “Perhaps you should meditate with us today.” She, too, seemed to be _inspecting_ him, with the Force, with her eyes, with intuition, Hux couldn’t tell which, instead feeling that same unnerving shiver he sometimes did around Kylo Ren. He refused to back down, or to lower his gaze from her eyes.

“Where is he? I won’t ask again.”

She turned, curling her hand out, pointing to a small door (open, of course) set into the wall behind the long table. “Be cautious around the master.”

Hux didn’t reply to that. No one needed to be cautious around Kylo Ren. He stood, not letting his entitled passengers take up any more of his time. The pair duelling in the corner had stopped to watch him walk, he noted. He half expected the room to be empty the way things were going, just some annoying prank.

The room was empty, actually, long, full of mats, plants, some burning incense. And more open doors--four, one leading to a small bedroom, another to a store of food, one with a statue of Snoke of all things (which would certainly have to be the oddest thing he’d seen so far today) and the last--

The last led to Kylo Ren. _And another pool_.

Smaller, more of a bathtub than a pool, with only one person in it. Presumably this one was Kylo Ren, or Hux might have to have this place torn apart after all. Ren was facing away from him, sitting, only his fair shoulders and dark hair visible. Until he stood, anyway, presumably sensing Hux’s presence at his door. Without turning, he stood, climbing out of the pool, kneeling on its edge.

And Kylo Ren was naked.

“General,” he said, reaching toward a small table, taking the towel from it.

“Ren.” Hux waited.

He dried his face, before turning, sitting on the pool’s side, stretching out one leg languidly, leaving just his foot in the water. He dropped the towel next to him instead of covering himself with it, to Hux’s chagrin. And then he finally turned, leaning back against his arm. Pointedly looking at Hux. Waiting.

“ _Ren_ ,” Hux repeated.

“ _General_.”

Hux glanced over him, darting his eyes away. He hadn’t expected him to be so young. Younger than himself, likely. Or so toned. He had expected this encounter to be this much a pain in the ass, so in that way at least Kylo Ren was certainly meeting expectations. “You haven’t been responding to the comms.”

“You could have written a communiqué.”

“You don’t read those.”

Kylo Ren shrugged, studying a small bit of tile on the floor, idly tracing it with his finger.

“I know _you_ have all day to lounge around and treat my ship like a Galorian pleasure colony, but I don’t. Part of my ship has been stolen.”

“My condolences.”

“Shut up, Ren, if you think I would waste your time and, more importantly, mine, coming here if it didn’t concern you--”

“What was stolen, General?” Kylo met his eyes, less interested in the tiles now.

“A communications array.”

“The entire array?” he commented dryly, head cocked.

Hux narrowed his eyes, the corner of his lip raised. “The catalytic hyperwave multiplexing transceiver, to be precise.”

“And?”

Hux nearly growled, biting his lip instead. “It was stolen from the array above this room. The one you and those useless layabouts you call warriors use.” He waited. No response. “To speak with Snoke.”

“Then replace it.”

“It’s one of the most expensive parts on this ship, Ren. There are only three, and no spares.”

“I thought the engines were the most expensive part of the ship.”

“Don’t play with me, Ren. Engines are made of lots of parts, this is one part. So, unless you want to cart yourself down to the other half of the ship whenever you want to have some quality time with the Supreme Leader, this concerns you greatly.”

“Give us one of the others.”

“And jeopardise both the communications of this ship, and its safety? You greatly overestimate your importance to the Order, Ren.”

Kylo put his feet back in the water, sitting up with his legs parted, leaning forward slightly. “Then I suggest you find it, General. Snoke won’t be happy with you if he cannot speak directly with us.”

“Don’t threaten me, Ren.”

“You find the truth threatening?”

Staring Ren down was getting more difficult by the moment, but Hux was steadfast. “I have brought the matter to your attention. If the stolen part can’t be located, then it can’t be replaced until we reach Hykoa.”

“In two months? I cannot ask my knights to wait that long to train with Snoke, as _we require_.”

“In that case, you and your men can track down the part yourself.” Without letting Kylo get another word in, Hux turned sharply, and walked out, faster than he intended.

Kylo watched him leave, shivering.


	2. Chapter 2

Kneeling before the hanging orb in its faux-stone alcove, Kylo Ren closed his eyes, exhaling deeply. He could feel the presence of all those around him, of his knights in the next room, of the personnel in the lower decks, in the hangar below them. Each one in turn lit up in the Force, reaching back just enough to greet his presence, almost warmly. Perhaps cooly. The physical sensations he associated with the Force never seemed to be exact, as though his mind couldn’t precisely process what his innate senses could stretch out and feel.

Stray thoughts also reached out to his mind, broken, disconnected, mundane thoughts that he couldn’t bother with listening to further. The day shift had just ended; the collective relief he felt through the Force was distinct, almost relaxing somehow.

He monitored a few key figures, those with wills easily bent, easily located. The feeling of their auras--their...colours, Kylo supposed, they hadn’t changed. Emerging will was dangerous in a subject, mostly certainly in these. He left their consciousnesses, letting the multitude of life on this ship fade from brilliant life forces to a muted starfield. Though he kept his breathing deep, pulling back made him acutely aware of his own body, his breathing, his heat, the damp smell from the adjoining room. He let his breath leave him, keeping his lungs empty until his body demanded another breath.

He inhaled deeply, starting again on this starfield, seeing each point of light, letting this intimate vision flit from lifeform to lifeform. A warmth surged in the Force--no, not in the Force, in his own body, feeling a flush about his neck.

His eyes flicked open. He stared blankly at the orb in front of his face, staring past it, keeping his eyes unfocused. He wrenched his neck from side to side, getting it to crack once, rolling his head three times before resuming his meditative position.

He reached out to the space beyond the ship, into the void bereft of life. It was an uneasy feeling, like touching something unexpectedly cold to warm skin. He embraced it, forcing himself on that knife’s edge of death. No, not death, the abiotic expanse of space. The Force existed here, too, but it ached for life.

Kylo kept his focus here for longer than he could stand, until it was painful, cutting his Force presence off from those around him. When he allowed himself to return to the ship, it was too swift, too fast. The life-auras were blinding, from starfield to supernovae, snapping his eyes open. His head fell, heart racing, breath heavy. He bit his lip. Returning to his own body could be frustrating.

He visualised himself, his form, every part of him. He lifted his head slowly, breathing slowly and shallow, letting this visual leaving on every breath. It wasn’t as successful as it had been.

One pearl of light called to him. Or rather, he’d unconsciously reached out to it--to _him_ \--and the light touch back reflexively pressed against him. Something all life did, sure, but this press back felt slightly more...intimate than others. Familiarity, reasoned Kylo Ren. Just a familiar presence amongst all those on the ship, the one whose guards hadn’t been let down, who hadn’t relaxed, who felt no relief at this time because he never truly came off duty. Kylo felt another surge in his body, but he didn’t let that return him. He could feel the toxic disdain even without...enveloping that presence and reading it further.

The flush in his body was becoming a burn. It felt as dangerous to pull away as it did to stay, just lingering about this presence. He pushed slightly.

A mistake. He gasped, immediately returned to himself. Standing quickly, he braced against the wall, letting his breath return to a conscious normal. He bit his lip. No more meditation tonight.

 

“The report, Captain Alyyiet?”

“Yes, General, sir. It is preliminary, of course.” She handed him the datapad, standing smartly and smoothing out her dark uniform. “So far there has been no sign of--”

“Are you telling me something you have not included in the report?”

“No, sir.”

“Then it is unnecessary.”

“Yes, sir.” She was a short woman, stout, with stern features. Recently promoted and transferred to Administrative Operations, she’d quickly found herself burdened with this job that could easily find her crossing paths with one Kylo Ren. Which, by the sound of it, had happened that morning.

“Did Ren harm you?”

“No, sir.”

“Did he threaten to harm you?”

“Not as such, sir. He...merely inquired why it was taking so long.”

“Hmph.” General Hux smiled slightly, faintly amused. “Only Kylo Ren would expect something so valuable to be returned so quickly.”

“He offered his help, sir.”

“Did he, now. What did he offer, perhaps, to shout your men down until they’ve found some lead?”

“The...offer wasn’t specific.”

“Surprising.”

She paused, for so long Hux thought she might be letting him actually read the report. But no such luck. “He inquired after you, sir.”

“How so?”

“He asked, if, well--”

But she stopped speaking. From the corner of his eye Hux could see why. An odd figure was approaching quickly, tall, wearing dark robes. Not Kylo Ren, he knew, not even looking. No, this person--this _creature_ \--wasn’t human, with long tentacles coming out of his head, and bleached white skin looking all the more eerie under the ship’s bright lights. Between the robes and his race, Hux reasoned he was the Twi’lek he’d seen with the knights.

Hux didn’t have time for this.

“Sir,” the Twi’lek said as soon as he was close. His tentacles seemed heavier and larger than the rest of his head. Hux couldn’t fathom how that would be a desirable quality in a warrior.

He focused on reading the report.

“Sir,” he insisted. His voice had a scratchy quality, impossibly high.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of the company of a Knight of Ren?” Hux needled, not looking at this alien, nor turning to him.

“Oh no, sir,” he wheezed. “I am not a knight, not yet.”

He was much younger than Hux had mentally assessed him to be when he’d seen him lounging at the knights’ poolside two days previous. Twi’leks--male ones, anyhow--were such disgusting looking creatures, it wasn’t until hearing his voice that Hux realised he was far younger. Barely older than a child. “Yes, what do you want?”

“Master Kylo wishes to extend his forgiveness to you, General Hux.”

He felt his eye twitch. “Forgiveness?”

“For violating the order...regarding the sanctum, sir.” The Twi’lek bowed slightly, offering his open palms as some sort of gesture. “He reports that your presence is tolerable, especially as you are endeavouring to, ah...restore our communications array.”

“Yes, I am. Work which you are currently interrupting.” Hux finally took his eyes off the datapad, dropping it to his side, emphasizing this waste of time he was currently enduring.

“I apologise profusely, General Hux.”

This one knew his place, which certainly explained why he was acting as page for Kylo Ren. “Yes.” He pivoted, assuming this warrior-in-training would know that he was dismissed.

“Sir,” he continued.

Hux huffed. “Yes? I am really very busy.”

“Master Kylo wishes to extend an invitation to you. He says that since you feel so welcome, ah...interrupting our peace, that you should continue to do so. He invites you to dine with us, tonight. In two hours.”

“Dinner.” Hux repeated, flatly.

“Yes, General.”

“With Kylo Ren.”

Captain Alyyiet stifled a cough behind him.

“Well, yes, and the rest of us. We dine together. It is quite an honour. We have never extended such an invitation to anyone else on the ship.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“We have an extra chair, sir, General. It would be most gratifying were you to join us.”

“Yes. Well.” He set the data pad on the console, making sure to give this messenger his full attention just long enough to dismiss him properly. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you,” he finished tersely.

“Yes, sir.” He bowed again, too quickly, his motions jerky, not at all the grace Hux associated with the few Twi’lek diplomats he’d met, nor with a warrior. But he shortly turned and left, which meant he was not entirely socially deaf.

“Are you...going to go, sir?” asked Captain Alyyiet a few moments later.

“Certainly not,” Hux replied without a thought, returning to the reports. “And I don’t know how they in the least expect me to have their array repaired if I’m off wasting time in their cesspit.”

“Sir, if I may--”

“ _What_ is it, Captain?”

“It is being investigated, and...it isn’t as though you personally are required to find the part. I’m more than capable of handling it while you’re gone.”

“I know you are,” Hux said, his expression sour. “But it isn’t required, as I will not be attending Ren’s dinner party.”

“Of course, sir. It’s just--”

“What is it?” he snapped.

She stood straight up, startled, the colour draining from her face. “Never...never mind, sir. It’s nothing.”

“Dismissed, Captain.”

 

Hux expected Kylo Ren to track him down after he didn’t show up for his odd invitation, but he hadn’t expected it so soon. Barely twenty minutes into his own meal, in fact. Ren couldn’t have waited long for him to decline before intruding on Hux’s own meal, factoring in the at least ten minute walk to the officer’s mess hall. And he certainly didn’t ask before sitting across from Hux at the small table, again wearing his signature helmet and mask, placing a small, black, covered bowl on the table and pushing it somewhat forward.

“You didn’t come to dinner.” His modulated voice sounded all the more ridiculous now that he’d heard Ren without it.

“How astute of you, Ren.”

Ren paused. “This is a slight, General Hux.”

Hux put down his fork. “What do you want, Ren?” He glanced at the shiny bowl. “What is that?”

“I made--” his hand moved over the covered bowl’s top, “-- _had_ made a dessert, specially for you.”

“You made it.’

 He paused, shaking his head. “ _Had_ made,” he repeated.

“How thoughtful,” Hux’s eyes narrowed, lips pursed.

There was a pause, as though Ren were about to keep speaking, but instead he flicked open the bowl’s clasp, twisting off its top.

“Is that--”

“Glazed glass pome, in brandy cream.”

Hux didn’t reply, and he didn’t dare look up to Ren’s face, at a stellar disadvantage with Ren’s expressions blocked and his own like an open book. “And where did you find glass pome, exactly? Did you steal it?”

“No,” Ren insisted. “Do you want it or not?”

The need to refuse was overpowering, but the subtle, sweet scent of the brandy cream reached him, entirely as tempting. “Yes, fine.” He reached out, grasping the bowl. Ren didn’t let go immediately, replacing the bowl’s lid before relinquishing the delicacy. He pulled his gloved hands back only partially, letting them stay on the table. Otherwise, he didn’t move.

Hux was hardly deaf to the tension; he took a sip of his tea. “Were you planning on watching me eat it? Your bizarre family must miss you.”

Kylo Ren stood without another word, nearly knocking the chair over in the process. He didn’t dismiss himself, or say goodbye--not that he ever did, so Hux hardly expected it now. Ren storming out of a room without a word wasn’t out of the ordinary at all either, but this time certainly felt odd. His chest felt heavy, almost ill as he watched him leave quickly. A retreat rather than an exit. The few others in the room had fallen silent, taking note of his departure as well. Only one dared glance at Hux.

And he wasn’t about to give the satisfaction of a reaction. He looked back at the bowl, taking another sip of his tea. If Ren thought this would ensure the speedy return of their communications he clearly had learned little in his time aboard the ship. It was a matter of time before Kylo Ren detonated, Hux just hoped there was nothing expensive in his way when it happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Master minimum equipment lists, they'll get you every time.

Hux didn’t have to wait long.

He was discussing a shuttle accident at the time. At least one detachment of troops dead, another unaccounted for. Arranging a rescue, sending bereavement messages, all complicated by the secrecy of the mission, all amounting to a headache. A headache about to get worse. The three officers he was speaking to stop talking, noticing it before he did. A yelp of protest from the hall, then the unmistakable modulated voice of an infuriating pain in the ass.

“Sir, I assure you, we’re doing everything--”

“Your assurances are meaningless.” Something hit the wall just outside the door. “I will speak to General Hux about this.”

“Sir, there’s been a--that is, General Hux is in the middle of--”

“Something that can wait.”

“Sir, Lord Kylo Ren, I--” Captain Alyyiet’s stammer worsened, “please, I promise you, we will return the--”

“Have you uncovered a single lead?”

“Sir, uh, well--” her sudden sharp intake of breath could be heard even through the metal doors and walls--and the sudden snap and unmistakable deep hum of Kylo Ren’s malfunctioning lightsaber. “Sir! Please, I’m sorry, sir, I--”

Action won out over fear, the other knee-jerk reaction to that hum, and Hux all but sprinted to the door. It opened instantly--and there was Kylo Ren, a third taller than the captain, in full armour, holding his ignited weapon close to her face and her throat with his other hand. A tableau of excess and overkill--Alyyiet did not even carry a sidearm.  
“Ren!” Hux barked, stomping over to him, keeping his distance.

Ren turned sharply. He let her go. He immediately extinguished the saber, to Hux’s immense relief, clipping it to his belt.

“My ship is not your--”

“ _General_ ,” Ren turned in degrees, stepping forward. “If you can’t results out of--”

“This is _my ship_ , Ren, and this is _my crew_ ,” Hux hissed, hands in fists at his sides. Captain Alyyiet crumpled behind Ren, hand on her throat. “You do _not_ give orders here.”

Ren took another step. Hux stood stock still, refusing to back down, and certainly refusing to be intimidated. “You suggested I should help. They have found nothing, perhaps they just need... _motivation_.”

“Your help is _not required_.” Hux straightened his coat. He gave a curt nod to poor Alyyiet, letting her scurry off down the hall as fast as her short legs could carry her. “The simple fact is, they haven’t found anything. These things aren’t fixed overnight.”

“Then I will have to do something about it, shall I?”

“You will do nothing of the sort,” Hux stepped forward, getting as close as he could without touching him. “Remember your place, Ren.”

“You would do well to remember yours.” He raised his hand, pointing his finger at Hux accusingly, nearly poking his eye in the process.

Eyes narrowed, the side of his lip twitching, and his brain roaring at the affront, Hux grabbed Ren’s wrist. Impulsively. Because if he’d thought about it, he never would have.

And for good reason. Ren’s hand went to his wrist, squeezing the sides. Still, Hux didn’t let go. “Unhand me,” Hux could feel the absurd strength in just Ren’s hand.

“You first.”

He’d had enough of this. He’d had enough of all this. Of Kylo Ren’s pissy tantrums, of his overstepping, his annoying presence, his near-useless self making a nuisance all over his ship. With every ounce of strength he had, he did the most responsible and mature thing he could do befitting an officer of the First Order.

He shoved Kylo Ren into the wall.

Hux swore he heard a gasp from beneath that ridiculous helmet as Ren’s back slammed into the steel plate. “Listen to me, Ren, you self-righteous, arrogant, snivelling shit. I don’t care what bullshit position you think Snoke has given you and your unpurposed band of imprudent mystics.” He’d somewhat accidentally crushed his own arm between them, getting closer than he’d meant to. Still. “You are _worthless_ to me, Kylo Ren. Every single being on this ship has earned their position, except you. If I discover you even _attempting_ to harm or threaten another of my crew again you had better hope Snoke pulls you off of this ship before I personally toss you out the nearest airlock, do you understand me, Kylo Ren?”

He waited for a response. He didn’t get one.

Ren was actually intimidated; it was unbelievable. The surge of power Hux felt build in him was incredible. Ren could kill him with little effort. Maybe with a single thought. And here, all but pressed against him in the hall, Ren was frozen, almost powerless.

“I--” Or that was close to what Ren said. He choked on the short syllable, making it unintelligible. His hand was still wrapped around Hux’s wrist, but the grip had loosened significantly.

“Speechless, Ren? It’s hardly like you to be at a loss for words.”

“No.” But that was the only thing he said. He didn’t move.

“Is it just that no one’s ever countered you?” Hux pressed him into the wall a bit more, testing him. Which also meant he was pressing more of himself closer--

“Don’t,” Ren choked out.

Hux jumped back as soon as he felt it, immediately letting go of Ren’s hand. His mouth was hanging open in surprise, he realised shortly.

Ren adjusted his robes, fidgeting. “General.” And with that he left down the hall. No, he ran, ran down the hall, quickly out of sight.

 

It was two weeks before the issue arose again. Two blissful weeks, two peaceful and heavenly weeks where Hux didn’t see Kylo Ren a single time. He’d almost managed to completely shove the memory of their last encounter from his mind. Almost. Distracting himself when it came to mind was working so far; tea was also a helpful tactic. Of course, his peace couldn’t last forever.

“Uh, sir,” a lieutenant approached him on the bridge. Rasley, Raistiel, something like that. “There’s...an issue.”

“And? You do not report directly to me. Unless you’ve forgotten how to do your job--”

“Yes, sir. Captain Faya told me to bring it to your attention.”

Hux had a terrible feeling he knew why, feeling a lead weight suddenly take up residence in his stomach.

“It’s...it’s Kylo Ren, sir.”

 

Despite having furiously stomped halfway across the ship Hux’s pace didn’t slow once as he stormed into the knights’ sanctum, into their ridiculous, noisy, entirely superfluous common room.

“ _Ren_!” he bellowed, surprising himself with the volume. Many of the knights stopped their various activities--though as far as he could see, a lot of them weren’t doing anything to begin with--and watched as he walked up to Kylo Ren. He stuck out even among this group, in his robe despite the heat close to the large pool, hood pulled back and wearing his ridiculous helmet, standing in the middle of the room seemingly interacting with no one.

“General,” he replied, unmoving, not turning to him.  Ren was far too important to look at anyone he talked to, after all.

“You have put this ship in danger, Ren, and I will not--”

“Your men haven’t done a good enough job in their investigation. I merely looked to remedy the situation--”

“Remedy the situation? Ren, you have severely damaged part of _my ship_ vital to its operation. You are putting _the lives of this crew_ in danger--”

“Your technicians put the ship in danger.”

Hux seethed, taking a deep breath before continuing. Ren nodded to the trainee knights not far from them and they (and the others in the room) resumed their training activities. Partially, at least. “You _coerced_ two junior technicians to remove a part from an array that they are not nearly qualified enough to even attempt. In so doing they have caused such heavy damage it will take weeks to repair fully. This jeopardizes _your_ safety as well, Ren, which is what I don’t think you are quite understanding.  It doesn't matter a sarlacc's tendril how powerful you think you are if we collide with a ship or station and you vaporise along with the rest of the ship--which is very nearly an acceptable sacrifice at this point.”

Tilting his head, Ren ignored the barbs.  “They were instructed specifically to take it from the secondary array.”

“Yes, the _overflow and emergency communications_ array. The _backup_ array. The one we use if the main gets knocked out--if we suddenly required assistance in the middle of a battle or if there has been a collision we would be unable to hail anyone for help if our main array is damaged.”

“The chances of that--”

“Aren’t as slim as you would think. Do you know why this ship has three arrays, Ren? Because this ship is designed with two backup systems. Two, Ren. This ship isn’t even operational with only one. Do you realise that if we arrived at dock tomorrow we, per regulations, would not be able to even leave until one was repaired, Kylo Ren? We are operating in conditions that will pose an immediate threat in the event of--”

“Then your men shouldn’t have fouled it up.”

Hux bit his lip, barely resisting the urge to strange Kylo Ren, the thought that he’d be dead in less than a minute after that the least of his objections. Straightening out his greatcoat Hux gathered his resolve. All of it. “I am going to make this very clear to you, Ren. I will not, under any circumstance--” but Hux never finished the sentence, instead feeling something bluntly smash into his side, knocking him off his feet, and a great splash after being launched into the air.

And right into the large pool.

Ren stood still.  If he noticed what had just happened, he didn't show it.

“Ren,” Hux gasped, after flailing enough to get his head above water. Not that he could see. He choked, trying to spit up water while managing to swallow more.

After waiting a few seconds, Ren stepped forward.  “The floor’s a bit slippery.” Ren walked over to the edge of the pool, just a shadow as Hux’s irritated eyes blurred his vision.

“Ren,” he sputtered again, shoving off his greatcoat to attempt enough of a breaststroke to get to the pool’s edge. He grabbed it, right next to Ren’s boot. “Ren,” he coughed, trying to pull himself out, feeling dizzy--both from having swallowed a good amount of water, and whatever shoved him so hard in the ribs.

“You’re wet, General.”

If his brain had had the required amount of oxygen, Hux would have replied to that smartly as he tried to pull his over-heavy self out of the water. “Ren,” he gasped instead, looking like a drowned kybuck. His uniform was tailored to protect against the chill of artificial space environments, the wool unfortunately also incredibly absorbent. And the edge of the pool was slippery, as Ren had so helpfully informed. He clawed his way out, determined, slipping a few times.  
Hux stayed bent over at Ren’s feet, catching his breath, thoroughly soaked, hair plastered to his face and neck. Holding his arm firmly against the growing bruise at his side, he stood, refusing help.

“You should put on something dry. You’ll get cold.”

“I’m sorry,” interrupted a voice Hux hadn’t heard before. “I don’t know what happened, my arm must have--must have slipped when Boorsk and I were--”

“Get my coat, Ren.”

Momentarily he heard a splash behind him, definitely not Ren, whose infuriating presence he could still sense in front of him. He rubbed his eyes, just starting to get a full breath into his lungs.

“I can...find you something else to wear,” Ren ‘helpfully’ supplied.

“That is _not necessary_ ,” Hux snapped, pulling on his soaking wet coat after it was handed to him.  Instinctively he pulled it closer, though it was useless for warmth at that point.

“You can’t walk like that all over the ship.”

“I can,” Hux said, more of an impulse than a reply. Suddenly he was doubled over, coughing, fighting hard to stand to his full height. “I can and I will, Ren.”

“You’ll freeze.” Ren walked away a few paces, Hux heard rather than saw. “And you look stupid.”

He’d have mocked Ren’s apparent concern and childishness, but between the new added weight of his coat and his rapidly chilling clothes he was at the end of his tolerance for anything to do with Ren and his extraneous band of eccentrics. Without replying more than a cough he turned and stomped out.

It was a miracle he didn’t slip.


End file.
